You know how much Mom loves Halloween so here is a good ghost story. The ghost resides at the legendary Grove Park Inn - a very haunting looking building itself, dating from the early 1900's. The rock building glows at night in stark contrast against the sky. Let's go inside shall we?
The main entrance is decorated festively for the season with huge pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks. Straight ahead is the Great Hall anchored at both ends by two massive fireplaces—each large enough to burn 12-foot long logs and each containing an elevator. These hand-operated wonders run alongside the chimney shafts within the rock work of the great fireplaces and transport guests and luggage to the upper floors. To our left is the Front Desk where guests register. As you can see, at night the flicker of lights add to the eerie look of the place. People say they have seen the Pink Lady in various places in the hotel. Seems fitting to see a ghost in a place like this.
Now that we are inside, let me tell you about the Pink Lady, a young lady in a diaphanous pink gown. The story goes that she was having a rendezvous at the hotel during the 1920's with a gentleman, most likely married. It seems her heart was broken at a debutante ball and she either fell or jumped to her death from the fifth floor of the Palm Court Atrium. Some say that she was pregnant and her lover found out, pushing her to her death rather than face a scandal.
To get to the Palm Court we go up in the old elevator built inside the rock fireplace to the fifth floor overlooking the atrium. The elevator is old, creaky and has one of those old fashioned gated to close. The room most associated with the Pink Lady is room 545, two stories above the Palm Court Atrium floor - probably the room she and her lover stayed in.
 |
| Elevator to the Palm Court Atrium. |
 |
| Room 545. |
 |
| Palm Court Atrium today. |
Do feel cold air on you? Is your hair standing on end? With no one around, this place is very creepy.
A painter from the late 1950s or early 60s and the hotel's current engineering facilities manager have reported strikingly similar tales about room 545. Both got cold chills on their way into the room so severe they never again attempted to enter. Interestingly, neither employee knew of the other's experience, or about room 545's connection to the Pink Lady.
Another employee who has seen the Pink Lady several times over the past five years describes the apparition as "a real dense smoke - a pinkish pastel that just flows. It's a real gentle spirit, whatever it is." Guests who have seen her say she is a beautiful girl with long dark hair. She is mischievous and turns off lights, opens closet doors, and even pulls the covers off sleeping guests.
Well - Mom didn't see or feel anything unusual on her visits but others say the air feels heavy and their hair stands on end when in the Atrium alone late at night. If you look real close I think you will see the Pink Lady.....
Boooooo....heehee. Got ya didn't I? It's me Ivy! More ghost stories coming this week so stay tuned.
We want to send our prayers and purrs for all those in the path of this horrific storm Sandy. Be safe - humans and critters alike.
